Hollywood Goes to War: How Politics, Profits and Propaganda Shaped World WarII Movies.
Clayton R. Koppes and Gregory D. Black
University of California Press, 1990
Review by Tadashi Hama
A thin section of American history is presented by examining Hollywood films and thedecisions of studio executives to make these films during World War II by former OberlinCollege professor of history and social activist Clayton Koppes and University ofMissouri, Kansas City Professor Gregory Black. The book highlights Franklin D.
Roosevelt’s efforts to spread a pro-globalist, anti-fascist message via government controlof Hollywood. A distillation of the collusion between Roosevelt and his globalist cabaland Hollywood:“…the propagandists and Hollywood embarked on an uneasy flirtation. Thegovernment needed Hollywood, but too much propaganda would wreck themovies’ entertainment appeal—the very thing that made the studios attractive tothe propagandists. On the other hand, the film makers sincerely wanted tocooperate, but not at the risk of hurting their profits.”
Thus, a time when average Americans were forced to ration basic necessities, Hollywood
executives were more than happy to do their part for the war—at a price. Executives
either cooperated or out-maneuvered the Office of War Information (OWI) to obtain its
approval, which was needed to for export and to rake in profits from overseas audiences.
Prior to World War II, “40 percent of … revenues were generated overseas.” Hollywood
had a global audience and FDR hoped to utilize Hollywood’s reach to spread his message.
During the war, Hollywood films would be shown in liberated territories “as soon as thesmoke” settled “in the wake of invading armies”—such was Hollywood’s desire topromote its products to non-Americans and to reach into their pockets.
The authors assert that “access to information is crucial to democratic citizenship; hence
Americans regarded propaganda… with suspicion”. The authors further assert that “sincetotal war requires mass mobilization … governments find propaganda… indispensable
for maintaining civilian and military morale.” Thus, to the authors, free speech is aluxury that can be sacrificed during a national crisis. FDR would be quite comfortable intoday’s era of “fake news”, social media manipulation and mass censorship. FDR was“the consummate media politician of his day,” as he “influenced public opinion” and“manipulated” the news media. With respect FDR’s opponents to his globalist agenda,“because of his efforts, the non-interventionists never received equal time.” Furthermore,
FDR “employed the apparatus of the federal government …including the Federal Bureauof Investigation, to harass and discredit his opponents.” FDR created his “officialpropaganda agency” to “influence public opinion” through a series of executive orders,that is, presidential decrees that bypassed the usual legislative mechanisms “critical todemocratic citizenship.” Today, the progressives and globalists praise FDR for his
globalist vision but we hear nothing of his abuse of the government and media tosuppress dissent and further his agenda. A small glimpse of FDR’s methods is revealed
and then the curtains are shut. After all, FDR saved the world from “fascism” and toprogressives, the end justifies the means. Readers who want to learn more of Propaganda
Minister FDR’s machinations will need to read elsewhere.
Nonetheless, the results are endless Hollywood films that cast liberal democracy andglobalism in the best light and films that mock “fascists”, especially Japanese “fascists”.
At the outset, the authors claimed that the OWI would eschew “hate propaganda” in favorof the “truth”—that is, the truth as dictated by the OWI and FDR. OWI’s pledge to refrainfrom “hate propaganda” was quickly forgotten. “Movies about Japan made little effort todevelop a Japanese character or explain what Japan hoped to accomplish… The Japaneseremained nameless, faceless and … speechless.” Furthermore, the authors state that “It
was a rare film that did not employ such terms as Japs, beasts, yellow monkeys, nips orslant-eyed rats.” In Little Tokyo, USA, the opening claimed that 15,000 JapaneseAmericans were involved in espionage.1 The story revolves around a white Los Angeles
police detective rounding up various suspected Japanese saboteurs. We see the detective,
his supervisor and one other beating a suspect in custody purely out of race-hatred. OtherHollywood films about Japan focused on themes of Japanese “treachery” and Japanese“blood lust.” In contrast, German soldiers were “often shown as decent human beings
distinct from the Nazis.”With respect to casting America and its liberal democratic ideology in the best possible
light, America needed to change its own history. For example, references to black slavery
or black servants in movie scripts were erased. At the same time, in movies depicting
World War II battles, black combat soldiers were shown serving side by side withwhites—even though the US military was still racially segregated. Whether throughdeception or whitewash, it was important for Hollywood to show “unity of color andcreeds fighting for America.”
The current book is a really a thin slice of the long history of Hollywood’s involvement ininfluencing American and worldwide public opinion. Readers will need to go elsewhere
to explore the dominant role assumed by a clannish immigrant ethnic group in the earlyfounding of Hollywood and its use of film as a tool, disguised as entertainment, for massdispersal of ideology and ethos.2 Finding the right ideologies and ethos, disguised asstories, that resonated with American audiences was a surefire way to profits. The stories
emanating from Hollywood would change significantly, from post-World War I wearinessand America-first, to pre-war messianic globalism. In between, Hollywood edited films
1

As a side note to Little Tokyo: When the Japanese were evacuated from Little Tokyo, Los Angeles
following FDR’s executive order, black migrants took over the area, as they were forbidden from whiteareas. Black-owned businesses replaced Japanese ones and the area was re-named “Bronzeville”. The area
was noted for its crime and “public health concerns”. Japanese retuning from their internment demanded
return of their property. While there were opportunities for alliance in terms of minority civil rights
between blacks and Japanese, there was also much tension between these groups. Natasha Varner (Feb. 23,2016) “Despite history, Japanese Americans and African Americans are working together to claim theirrights.” https://www.pri.org/stories/2016-02-23/despite-their-history-japanese-americans-and-africanamericans-are-working
2N. Gabler. An Empire of their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood. NY, NY: Anchor. 1989.

2so as not to upset, for example, Nazi sensibilities such that films could be shown inGermany as Germany avidly consumed American films.3 Hollywood is currently doing
its best to edit films so as not to offend the Chinese Communist Party in order to gain
access to the huge Chinese market. Perhaps in the end profit overrules ideology.
Hollywood, despite its American origin, is indeed a global institution.

3B. Urwand. The Collaboration: Hollywood’s Pact with Hitler. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press. 2013.

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